STEP 2 : SEAL THE SURFACE & FINAL FINISHED EFFECT

Option 1 (BOLE)

Seal the wood surface. To do this, you can use gesso, shellac, acrylic-based gesso and wood sealer. Once the surface is prepared and dry you can begin applying the “bole” (the colored base coat). The bole imparts tone to the leaf and provides that will show through any cracks, commonly known as faults or holidays, that may occur when you lay the genuine leaf and for final finished effect.

Make sure the bole is applied as smoothly as possible, because any brush marks will show through the finished leafed surface. Disposable foam brushes work will for applying the bole, since they don’t leaves the visible brush strokes you get the when using an artist brush. Allow the bole to dry thoroughly before moving to step 3.

Option 2 (PRIMER)

You should use Red ocher Primer for wood, Also you can use yellow and black color, depends on the final treatment you are creating (water or oil-based).

Apply the first water-based primer on the surface. You must wait to dry several hours or overnight. Once the surface is dry, the coating is sanded to remove any dust or foreign particles that may have settled on the wet paint and to reduce the differing levels of the brush strokes and for eliminating waves in the paint surface. The work is done with #220 grit sand-paper or steel wool #2 even. If the grain and cracks of the wood itself is still apparent, apply filler and sanded it, before the next application of paint.

This second coat of paint are applied, must also dry, be sanded as described before.

This third coat of paint are applied, must also dry, be sanded from #220 to 320 grit or #0 to #00 steel wool as described before.

To obtain final process of this option you must apply a clear paint on the last base coat, you can use varnish, lacquer or clear.

Many coats of paint-each well sanded-confer a handsome “body” to the piece. Three to four coats are required to achieve this, to produce items of great beauty and professional projects 

Bole and Primer serves two purposes: It creates a smooth surfaces and provides a colored base coat.

Metal Surface

If the metal object has been previously prepared “step 1” and painted with primer colored, now the metal surfaces usually is ready to apply primer paint, bole or adhesive size. You may decide create a “body surface” as describe before.

STEP 3: APPLY THE ADHESIVE SIZE

Option 1

Tallo Adhesive Size (water based) is a relatively new contemporary formula to the craft of gilding is synthetic water-based size. This adhesive size work exactly like oil adhesive size surface application.

Gilder’s tip A: for the adhesive to slide smoothly on the surface and get thinnest film: dilute adhesive size with water in a bowl (from 90% to 80% adhesive-size- to 10%-20% water).

Application of adhesive-size to a surface is more readily accomplished with a cotton wool, paint brush or camel-hair brush of suitable proportions.

The object is to cover the surface with the thinnest possible film, avoid adhesive size excess, drops, bubbles and squirt. A brush is essential for carvings in order to reach deep into the interstices, molding or applied design.

Gilder’s tip B (optional): help to get a “thin film surface“ and “removes adhesive size excess, drops, bubbles and squirt”, for creates a better finished product. Dilute adhesive size with water in a bowl (from 70% adhesive-size- to 30% water). Used a cotton cloth or cotton wool, wet a cloth and squeeze.   You will need work fast, after the surface has been covered, it is worked over again, wet a cloth and squeeze it, then remove the first layer of adhesive size, gently and one way directions in order to get super thin film surface, wet and squeeze the cloth as often as necessary.

After the surface has been covered wait for it to become tacky, or reaches tack 30 minutes before applying the leaf. it will remain tacky for several hours before it dries completely and loses tack.

Experienced gilders advise that applying the leaf 4 hours after or went the tallo adhesive size has almost lost its tack gives the best result. They also believe the adhesive size that takes the longest to reach tack creates a better finished product

Tallo water adhesive size become tacky in 30 minutes and remains tacky for 30 hours. Weather can affect the time it takes for any adhesive size to become tacky, so take into account humid and dry condition.

Option 2

Water Gilding (adhesive) is antique formula can be made from Rabbit skin, Gelatin and Animal glue (dissolved in water). With a paint-brush or camel brush apply the water gilding on small section of the surface. the leaf is laid directly onto the wet adhesive water gilding.

Remember that this process is different from Tallo adhesive size, where the leaf is laid onto the tacky size.

STEP 4: LAY THE LEAF

Tools:

• Cotton Gloves
• Cotton Wool
• Cleaning brush (skewing scrap)
• Gilding brush
• Pick-up leaf tool

Cut genuine leaf (optional): You can cut the leaf into smaller pieces with the gilder’s knife if required. Pick up some leaf with the knife and put it on the pad. Gently blow the leaf to make sure it is flat. Cut the leaf by drawing the blade towards you once. The size the pieces depends on the subject.

Tips to help to pick up the genuine leaf, you can use a flat artist’s brush, gilder’s tip or pick-up leaf tools; also you can spread a little petroleum jelly on to your forearm and brushes the gilder’s tip or flat artist’s brush over the jelly.

Water Gilding Coat

Genuine leaf is placed on the wet surface, use a gilding brush wet the water mixture for any touch-up work and gently place loose genuine leaf on to the dampened surface and press down lightly with cotton wool (balls). Continue painting on the gilding water and applying the genuine leaf until the whole area is covered. Any small bare patches can be covered using small pieces of leaf (skewings).

Finished, the leaf must be left to dry for about one to three hours, more if it’s humid, less if it’s dry. It is important not to touch the gold with your finger until after it has been burnished. Now is ready to proceeding step 5.

Tallo Adhesive Size Coat

Gilding on flat surfaces

Lay the leaf on to the sized area, proceeding from left to right; each sheets of gold or silver should overlap the next. Brush over with cotton wool (balls). The process is repeated until the surface is covered. Small faults can be remedied with “skewing” (the remaining particles of leaf resulting from the overlaps these are called skewings).

Gilding on carved, curves and ornaments surfaces

Once layer of leaf is placed on the area with just enough pressure to secure it, a second layer is now placed on top of the first one; finally are firmly pushed wherever necessary with a gilding brush and cotton wool, since the second layer of leaf and the skewing fill in all the breaks caused by the multi—level surface. To fill exceedingly tiny recesses, however, it is sometime necessary to use a thin-pin tool dipped in skewing and firmly pressed into the recesses.

You may need more than one or two layer of leaf to cover the curves, angles, and crevices of these objects.

You may notice that small cracks occur during the leafing process and expose the based primer with color underneath the leaf. You can leave these “faults” if they give you the desired look you want for your finished project.

Wait a few minutes or hours before proceeding to Step 5, to allow the adhesive size to dry slightly or lower the adhesive size strength.

STEP 5  BURNISH & REMOVES THE EXCESS LEAF SURFACE

Material: Gilding Wax

Tools:

• Cotton Gloves
• Cotton wool
• Cleaning-brush

Walter Gilding Coat

Burnish

When the surface is dry, burnish with an agate burnisher, going over the surface several times until a deep shine begins to appear. Do not press too hard.

Tallo Adhesive Size Coat

Rub the gilded area

With cotton wool and gilding brush, gently tamp the leaf in to place, and raised areas and start rubbing to removes the excess leaf residues, always in the direction of the overlap to prevent the leaf from tearing, also you can use cleaning brush to remove any loose leaf or skewings.

Being careful to prevent the cotton wool (tamper) from touching exposed spots that retain the adhesive-size, for filling small faults, cracks and holidays, the skewing are brushed to the faults and firmly pressed in with the cotton wool or cotton glove.

Seal with a wax

Add small quantity of wax to cotton wool and when impregnate the wax cotton-wool through, start polishing the gilded areas. The surface can be buffed up with other clean cotton wool.

Wax is used as polish to remove leaf joints, for burnish and seal gilded surface to prevent damage when applying next step 6 & 7.

Burnish is used to describe polishing of gold and silver leaf with a tool and cotton wool. After the burnishing, the gilded area has greater brilliance and its tonal value is deeper than that of mat gold or mat silver; in these respects the leaf has become similar in appearance to polished ore. Because of its delicacy, true leaf adapts to every irregularity of the surface. Accordingly, a mirror gleam is achieved by burnishing and if the surface is rough and craggy the burnished increases the plate of reflection, creating more light, better quality and brilliance.

STEP 6: DISTRESS, ANTIQUE & CONTEMPORARY FINISHES

You can finishes or enhance the gilding surface for multitude of special effects. This step is optional and depends on your concept of this finished project. You ca make the leaf look older, real leaf, tone down the shining, fashionable, overpaint it, or add surface decorations.

Antique Finishes

The easiest way to get an antique look is to leave the fault that show the color based primer underneath the leaf; you can intentionally create cracks as you lay the leaf or apply commercial preparations. Also you can dip some steel wool pad into a little methyl alcohol and rub gently over the gilding surface to remove a little of the leaf or dip cotton wool ball into a little solvent, thinner or gasoline and rub gently as you lay (joints) the leaf to create a stripe cracks faults on the surface.

A traditional easy way to antique a surface it is to use “wood stains”. These oil-based stains come in a variety of wood tones and are available at paint or hardware store.

You can make your colors tones stains, with “universal tinting colorants” for tinting solvent thinned,  oil paints or for tinting acrylic, vinyl paints, which is readily available in paint store.

You may want to look in your paint store for commercial preparations for antiquing or other effects. You can fine products that create a copper verdigris finish, for instance. There are also antique glazes or mediums available at craft supply shop.

Certain “mediums” used for antiquing areas discussed here again when they may be used effectively on leaf; in accordance with the manner of coloring, it is possible to gray, yellow, tinting color or blacked silver, and to brown gold. a wide range of effects  that simulate the alteration of time and use is achieved but without the messy and smeared appearance of newly applied antiquing.

Another way to distress or antique a gilded surface involves the use rottenstone, or ground limestone, which is readily available in paint or hardware store.

STEP 7: SEAL THE GILDING SURFACE

You do not need to seal real gold leaf, because it will not tarnish. However, if you want extra protection for a real gold surface, you must decide to apply a protective sealer coat.

The best protective coat for a gilding surface is varnish or lacquer, are comes in either oil-based or water-based preparations that you apply with a brush. Both come in matte, satin, and gloss finishes. Water based varnish or lacquer is easier to use, but oil varnish or lacquer provides a more durable finish. Apply two coats to best protections. You can use a sealer coat but may alter the color of the real leaf.